


All That Is Gold

by TheTruthBetween



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, FTM!Emma, Kink Meme, Trans Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-05-29 09:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6369970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTruthBetween/pseuds/TheTruthBetween
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kink meme prompt:</p><p>"Snow White and Prince Charming's baby girl is destined to break the curse. This, Regina knows.<br/>So when a young man shows up in Storybrooke, it takes her far too long to work out that he's the saviour. So long that she finds herself falling in love with him.</p><p>Also, props if the curse is broken and there's a reunion with Snow and Charming/discussion of Emma's life."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “All That Is Gold” which is a reference to the poem by Tolkien and the first line “All that is gold does not glitter”
> 
> Expect very short chapters, this is kind of a "write as inspiration strikes and post when it runs out" type of fic. Also I started writing this 2 years ago, no guarantees that I'll finish. (Although reviews and encouragement do help.)

It was when Regina was getting her morning coffee that she noticed something out of the ordinary. Specifically the ugly yellow Volkswagen parked in front of Granny’s. Once she stepped into the diner, it was easy to pinpoint the owner: a blond man hunched over the counter, clutching a mug of coffee like a lifeline.

Regina squared her shoulders and strode purposefully to the counter, nodding an acknowledgement to Ruby as the young woman set her usual order in front of her.

The man’s eyes slid sideways at the movement, then flicked up to look into the face of the person invading his personal space. He straightened upon seeing the beautiful brunette with the polite (if somewhat plastic) smile.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen you in here before,” Regina observed, her eyebrow quirking as she took in the stranger. She had to admit that he was quite attractive. Spiky blond hair that managed to look artfully disheveled instead of just messy and deep eyes that were an intriguing swirl of colors. He had quite the baby face, she noticed, but the light scruff along his chin and jawline helped detract from it. Yes, Regina decided, this stranger’s looks almost made up for the eyesore he had parked outside.

“That’s because I haven’t been here before,” the man chuckled. He held out his hand. “Emmett Swan.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Red Swan in this chapter.

Regina shook his hand with a firm grip, noting the flicker of surprise in his gaze. “Regina Mills.”

“You know,” Emmett said, pausing to down a mouthful of coffee, “you’re the first person to actually come up and talk to me. Everyone else just stares like I’m some kind of escaped convict or something.”

“Well, we don’t get many visitors in Storybrooke.” And Regina was very much wondering how the hell this stranger had even managed to find the town, never mind enter it. “And as the mayor, it’s my duty to make sure that anyone passing through isn’t going to cause any trouble.”

Emmett’s eyebrows rose. “Mayor, huh? Impressive.” He looked her up and down, then stated, “Yeah, I can see that. But anyway, I’m not looking to cause trouble. Just needed a place to spend the night on my way through.”

Regina smiled, nodding, “Good.” If she had been about to say anything further, she never had the chance, her cell phone interrupting with a ring. “Excuse me.” She pulled a five out of her pocket with one hand, the other scooping up her phone from her purse. “Hello?” she answered as she set the money down and grabbed the to-go cup Ruby had left on the counter when she had entered.

Stepping out of the diner, Regina’s expression tightened. “Miss Blanchard, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She paused, listening to the younger woman’s agitated words. “He  _what_?” Regina’s voice rose to almost a yell at what the teacher was saying. Without even letting her finish her sentence, Regina hung up the phone, tossed her full coffee into a trashcan and stormed to her car.

Inside the diner, Emmett and Ruby watched with curious expressions.

“I pity whoever she’s headed toward,” Emmett chuckled. He’d only just met the beautiful brunette and already he could tell she was a force to be reckoned with.

“Yeah, the mayor has one hell of a temper,” Ruby agreed. She turned away from the window and shot a flirty smile at the blond. “But enough about her. I want to know about  _you_.”

Smirking, Emmett leaned forward. “Pretty sure you learned all about me last night.”

“There’s always more to know,” Ruby winked. “Check out isn’t for another couple hours, and it’s slow until lunch rush… I could take a break, grab a couple beers, and we could… reacquaint ourselves?”

“Beer? At ten in the morning?" Ruby grabbed the front of Emmett’s shirt, hauling him forward and whispering into his ear. A moment later, he was nodding. "Beer it is. Meet you upstairs?”

“Give me ten minutes.”


	3. Chapter 3

When Regina stepped into Storybrooke Elementary, Mary Margaret and Henry were waiting for her, the boy sitting on a classroom chair in the hallway, kicking his feet sullenly. His pixie of a teacher had, for once, forsaken her cheery disposition to watch him sternly.

“Would you care to explain to me what happened?” Regina asked in lieu of a greeting, her gaze trained on her son.

Henry glanced up briefly, then returned to his sulking, muttering, “No.”

“Henry!” Regina snapped. When the boy simply hunched his shoulders forward, the mayor turned her attention to his teacher. “Well, Miss Blanchard?”

“Th-there isn’t really much beyond what I told you over the phone,” Mary Margaret said, stuttering slightly in the face of the older woman’s fearsome countenance. “I came into the classroom and Henry was rifling in my wallet, with my credit card in his hand. He’s refused to tell me what he was doing.”

Regina stepped up in front of her son, taking his chin in her hand and tilting his head back, saying, “Henry, look at me.” Without much of a choice, the boy did as he was told. “What were you doing in Miss Blanchard’s wallet? Why did you have her credit card?”

Henry’s gaze hardened as he glared at his mother. She glared right back, and after a brief struggle, the boy capitulated. “I was putting it back.”

“Why did you have it in the first place?”

Jerking his head out of his mother’s grasp, Henry jumped up from the chair. “I took it, okay? I took it yesterday and I was putting it back today.”

Mary Margaret’s jaw dropped. “You  _stole_ it?” she squeaked. “Oh, Henry,  _why_?”

“I  **borrowed** it,” Henry corrected stubbornly. “I needed it.”

“What on earth was so important that you would resort to thievery?” Regina asked, angry and incredulous at this turn of events.

Henry’s jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists before he spat out, “I was trying to find my  _real_ mom!” Then he took off down the hall, slamming through the doors and sprinting out of sight.

Regina stood there helplessly. It was not a feeling she was comfortable with, but she needed a moment to process her son’s vitriol. Mary Margaret stood beside her, gaping at the doors before slowly turning to look at the mayor with an expression heavy with sympathy.

That snapped Regina out of her daze, and she gave the teacher a harsh glare that had the younger woman ducking her head before turning on her heel and marching back to her car. She decided to give Henry some time to cool off and come home before reading him the riot act and grounding him for life.


	4. Chapter 4

After his romp with Ruby, Emmett found himself at the beach, enjoying the cool ocean air before he got ready to head out on his way. He was getting ready to turn back to his car when he noticed a small figure sitting on a wooden castle at the other end of the beach, and he tilted his head curiously. No stranger to juvenile delinquency and skipping school himself, Emmett decided to see what was up.

"Hey, kid," he greeted once in earshot.

The kid's head shot up, eyeing him curiously. "You're not from Storybrooke."

Emmett snorted, shaking his head. "Nope. Just passing though. Don't you have school or something?"

"Duh, I'm ten," the kid rolled his eyes. "But I got in trouble and my mom got called and I ran away when she came to get me."

"Huh." Emmett leaned back against the structure, facing out at the ocean again. "Sound like you had a helluva day. I used to get in a lot of trouble, myself, when I was your age." Shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, he asked, "So what'd you do?"

"Why do you care?"

Chuckling, Emmett replied, "Just making conversation, kid."

There was silence between them for a long moment, before the kid finally answered. "I borrowed my teacher's credit card without asking, so I could pay for a website to find my birth mom. I got caught when I was putting it back."

Okay, so Emmett had never committed grand larceny, at least not as a prepubescent. Damn. After a moment of processing, he asked, "Your birth mom, hey? You're adopted?"

"Yeah," the boy said glumly.

"Don't like your mom?"

"Uh-uh. She's evil."

He said it so casually that Emmett did a double-take, turning to face the kid. "Evil? What's she do?"

The kid eyed Emmett, clearly gauging his trustworthiness. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked instead.

"Sorry," Emmett chuckled, holding out a hand to shake. "I'm Emmett. Just a guy on vacation. I'll be out of town later today, anyway, so might as well tell me, right?"

"I'm Henry," the kid said, shaking the proffered hand. "I guess so... Okay, I'll tell you."

If Emmett was expecting some confession of abuse (which he was), then he'd be surprised when Henry instead pulled a large book of fairytales out of his backpack (which he also was). Curious as hell now, he kept silent and let the kid speak.

"I know what you're thinking," Henry said. "You think these are just stories. They're not. It's all real." Flipping open the book, he came to a page with an illustration of a woman in black. "That's the Evil Queen. Regina. My mom. She cast a curse to make all the fairytale characters come to Storybrooke -- like storybook, you know? And the curse made them forget who they are, so they think they belong here. But they don't." More pages were flipped, to another picture. "That's Snow White and Prince Charming. She's my teacher, Miss Blanchard. I don't know who Prince Charming is now, though. My mom  **hates** Miss Blanchard, like the Evil Queen hates Snow White. They had a baby," onward to the back of the book, the very last page. "and sent her to this world before the curse hit, so she'd grow up and break the curse and save everyone. But I can't find her! I know she's my mom, I just  _know it_! I just have to find her and bring her to Storybrooke and she'll break the curse and defeat Regina." Henry closed the book, looking up at Emmett expectantly.

Emmett blew out a long breath and rubbed a hand over his face. "That's... intense, kid," he finally said, struggling to catch up on the delusion this kid had entrenched himself in. "Wait... Regina? The mayor? Your mom's the mayor?" he asked in surprise.

Henry's eyes narrowed. "I thought you were a stranger here."

"Yeah... I met her this morning at the diner. You know, she doesn't really look like an evil queen, kid."

Hazel eyes rolled in a preview of upcoming teenage attitude that Emmett didn't envy the attractive mayor. "Duh. She has to keep the curse a secret."

"Uh, right. Yeah. Um, shouldn't you be going home or something?"

Henry tucked the book into his bag again, kicking his feet against the wooden castle. "I don't want to. She's mad at me, and she's evil, remember? She'll probably ground me."

A strangled noise caught in Emmett's throat as he bit down a near-hysterical laugh. Grounded. Yeah, super evil. "Well... maybe I could talk to her," he offered impulsively. "I'll walk you home, and see if I can convince her to not ground you." The last part was a blatant lie -- the kid clearly needed consequences for  _stealing his teacher's credit card_ , but he wasn't going to tell him that.

"Really?" Henry asked hopefully, looking at Emmett with uncommonly trusting eyes.

"Yeah, sure," Emmett nodded.

"Awesome!" Henry jumped down from the play structure, beaming.

Chuckling and hating himself a little for finding this weird little kid so likable, Emmett gestured with one hand. "Lead the way, kid."


	5. Chapter 5

The door opened as Emmett and Henry approached, Regina waiting for them, looking stern. Without a word, Henry ran past her into the house. Regina turned to watch him before slowing facing the door again. Her eyebrow quirked and she smiled, half-sincere and half-forced. "Thank you," she said, sounding wry and reluctant, uncomfortable.

"No problem," Emmett replied easily, his returning smile warm and genuine.

Hands in her pockets, Regina stepped forward, noting, "He must have taken quite a shine to you, to trust you to walk him home."

Emmett shrugged. "I suppose. I ran into him on the beach. He told me he stole his teacher's credit card?" his voice expressed his disbelief.

"Apparently," Regina sighed, running slim fingers through her hair. "I cannot fathom what's gotten into him -- I certainly raised him better than that." Realizing that she was opening up to a complete stranger, she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Not that this interests you, of course."

"I actually did want to talk to you about him, if that's all right," Emmett said tentatively. "Firstly that I told the kid I would, but also... I might have a bit of insight, if you're willing."

Eyeing him curiously, Regina nodded. "All right. Come inside, please." She motioned to the door.

After the two settled in the study, Regina clasped her hands over her knee, looking at Emmett expectantly.

"So, I told that kid that I'd put in a good word for him because he's afraid you'll ground him, but honestly, I pretty much just said that to get him to agree to let me take him home and talk to you. Because really, former juvenile delinquent speaking here, if he's starting to act out, you really gotta nip that in the bud. But you probably know that, so I'm preaching to the choir." Awkwardly, Emmett rubbed the back of his neck, watching Regina's eyebrows raise higher, clearly waiting for something intelligent to come out of his mouth. "Look, I was a foster kid. I know what it's like to grow up knowing that your birth parents gave you up, and I know what it's like to spend your life looking for them. I spent a lot of time, money, and energy looking for the people who gave me up, and I never found them. I had to learn how to be okay with that, but from what your son told me, it sounds like this is new to him, yeah?"

Regina nodded hesitantly, replying, "Yes, he just recently found out that he was adopted."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, so he's got all these feelings of why he wasn't good enough for his birth parents to keep him, and I mean, maybe they were terrible people who just didn't want a kid, or maybe they were regular people who weren't in a position to be able to give a kid a good life. He doesn't know, and that's what's hurting him. And I fully acknowledge that I don't know you, and I don't know him, but I really feel like now more than ever, he needs to know, to  _feel_ that you love him, y'know?"

Immediately bristling, Regina coldly replied, "I don't know who you think you are to--"

And Emmett cut her off. "I'm not anybody. I'm just a guy who once felt the way your son does. I've been there. I'm not saying that you don't love him, or that you don't show it, I'm saying that he's probably feeling lost and not good enough, because he was given up as a baby. When I was his age, I would have killed to have someone who loved me, to give me a hug and say 'no matter what, I  **chose** you.'" Shrugging, he added, "That goes a long way. And it'd probably help with his whole 'evil queen' thing, too."

"I'm sorry, what?" Regina asked, blinking at him.

"You know, his book? The fairytales? How his teacher is Snow White and you're the Evil Queen? Kid's got an imagination on him, I'll give him that."

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," Regina replied, looking disturbed.

"I don't know, something about fairytales being true and curses, and to be honest, I wasn't really listening once I realized he actually believed it was true," Emmett smiled sheepishly. "But basically all I wanted to say is that I think he'll get through it, as long as you're there for him, you know? And I'm not judging or anything, it's just that I imagine it can be pretty hard sometimes, being a mayor and a mom. Or, I dunno, maybe I'm just talking out my ass and need to shut up and leave already," he chuckled.

Regina stood, coolly replying, "I think that might be a good idea, Mr. Swan."

A little surprised at the abrupt dismissal, Emmett nodded and stood as well. "Thanks for your time, anyway. You have a nice little town here, by the way." He smiled before heading out the door and back to the bed and breakfast to pick up his car and go on his way.


	6. Chapter 6

One moment Emmett was driving out of town, and the next, he was waking up, squinting into the bright light above a hospital bed.

"Ah, you're awake," a male voice said, and then a pen light was being shone in his eyes, which he batted away irritably, scowling.

"What happened?" Emmett asked, frowning as his eyes adjusted to the light and he looked up at a blond, blue-eyed doctor with an arrogant smirk.

The doctor jotted a note down on his clipboard, then replied, "The sheriff found you on the side of the road. Apparently you drove into the town sign. I understand day drinking was involved," he waggled his eyebrows.

Emmett let out a disgusted noise, rolling his eyes and sitting up. "I wasn't drunk. Can I go now?"

"Not yet." The doctor pushed him back down. "The sheriff is waiting to talk to you. I'll let him know you're awake."

Pushing out a heavy sigh as the annoying doctor left, Emmett stared at the ceiling, muttering a quiet, "Happy birthday to me."


End file.
